Timmy’s 53 favorite obscure tunes #1. P.F. Sloan (2 Viewers)

[Dr. Octopus]

43. Billy Bragg & Wilco “Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key” (from Mermaid Avenue, 1998)

Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupWay Over Yonder In The Minor Key · Billy Bragg · WilcoMermaid Avenueâ 1998 Craft Recordings., Distributed by Conc...

youtu.be

The album is a collection of songs created from Woody Guthrie lyrics that were never recorded. The great folk punk artist Billy Bragg teamed up with Wilco; the result was magic. This particular tune, my favorite, features a backup vocals by Natalie Merchant.

I love this album - not this song as much as some of the rest of the album though.

My favorite:

California Stars

Billy Bragg, Wilco · Song · 1998

open.spotify.com

 

[kupcho1]

This is the best Tim music thread ever.

I'd say it was a low bar since the bar's on the ground, but yeah, best ever.
Nice Billy Bragg pull.

 

[rockaction]

The album is a collection of songs created from Woody Guthrie lyrics that were never recorded.

Thank God we get that communist scripture in here somehow. Has to be Billy Bragg.

"This Machine Kills Fascists"

This Land is Your Land At one time or another, we have all sung it: But how much do you know about the song? The evolution of its lyrics? The worldview of its composer? For many, the name Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) conjures a very American, romantic image—one of a hobo and his guitar, riding the…...

ushistoryscene.com

Woody Guthrie and Communism ​

Throughout his life, Woody’s relationship with communism was informal, at most. Accounts differ as to whether Woody was ever an actual card-carrying member of the party; while he once claimed to have been registered as early as 1936, others have said Woody briefly joined only to have been boosted, while still others maintained that the Party wouldn’t have this free thinker as a member.

Whatever his actual relationship with the communist party, Woody’s leftist leanings were at least enough to spur an ongoing FBI file on the singer, which listed him as a communist who served as “Joe Stalin’s California mouthpiece.” At the very least, communism inspired Woody’s music. Like the Red Songbook parodies, a collection of Communist satires set to known tunes, Woody used old hillbilly melodies to sing stories of violent policeman, greedy bankers and valiant union strikers. Starting in the late 1930s, the Communist Party saw political potential in folk music and turned to Woody and other folk artists as a way to reach the masses, popularizing communist themes through the proletariat’s own art form.

The appropriation of folk music for communist political gain was part of a broader strategy (known as the Popular Front) that took form in the 1930s. Formerly a small, ineffective group largely comprised of immigrants, the Communist Party was now making an effort to Americanize itself, inject itself politically and culturally into America’s mainstream. And it was at least partially successful. As Klein has written, “It was probably the only moment in American history when being a communist seemed at all plausible to more than a tiny minority of people.”

Flexible Communism​

Woody’s personal interpretation of communism was flexible. He had an infamous distaste for the long theoretical debates that occurred at so many official Party meetings, during which he often fell asleep until awoken to perform. He personally disdained materialism, often giving away money as soon as he made it, and in his autobiography Bound for Glory blamed much of the unhappiness of his home on the family’s relentless pursuit of nice things. After a youth full of short spastic intellectual pursuits of everything from psychology to fortune telling, he eventually found his purpose as a socially aware songwriter. As he wrote in Bound for Glory,

“There, on the Texas plains right in the dead center of the dust bowl, with the oil boom over and the wheat blowed out and the hard-working people just stumbling about, bothered with mortgages, debts, bills, sickness, worries of every blowing kind, I seen there was plenty to make up songs about… at first it was funny songs of what all’s wrong, and how it turned out good or bad. Then I got a little bravery and made up songs telling what I thought was wrong and how to make it right, songs that said what everybody in the country was thinking.”

 

[timschochet]

Hey Rock, there were fascists who were great artists (Ezra Pound, TS Eliot, Richard Strauss to name a few). And there were Communists who were great artists (Pablo Picasso, Lillian Hellman, Freida Kahlo, Theodore Dreiser, etc.)

I’m certainly not a fan of extremist, radical views. But that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the art. I would imagine that Billy Bragg is to the left of Bernie Sanders. But I still love a lot of his music. I like Ted Nugent’s music too.

 

[timschochet]

This is the best Tim music thread ever.

I'd say it was a low bar since the bar's on the ground,

lol thx

 

[timschochet]

Speaking of Bound for Glory: Bob Geldof took the name Boomtown Rats from a gang Woody mentions in that book.

 

[krista4]

Given our M-aD countdown, I haven't had time to be in this thread, despite begging tim to do this one! But I had to come in when I saw the title of a favorite song of mine show up (Way over Yonder in the Minor Key). I promise to listen to the playlist soon-ish. Thanks for the thread.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Given our M-aD countdown, I haven't had time to be in this thread, despite begging tim to do this one! But I had to come in when I saw the title of a favorite song of mine show up (Way over Yonder in the Minor Key). I promise to listen to the playlist soon-ish. Thanks for the thread.

This one was not on the Mermaid Avenue CD my friend burned for me, because, you know...

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Given our M-aD countdown, I haven't had time to be in this thread, despite begging tim to do this one! But I had to come in when I saw the title of a favorite song of mine show up (Way over Yonder in the Minor Key). I promise to listen to the playlist soon-ish. Thanks for the thread.

This one was not on the Mermaid Avenue CD my friend burned for me, because, you know...

The Tweedy songs are much better than the Bragg songs. I do listen to the album often though, and there really isn’t a bad song. I never got into Volumes II or III for whatever reason though. Think it was a bit overkill.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I like Ted Nugent’s music too.

So you’re the one.

 

[timschochet]

42. Buju Banton “Untold Stories” (from ‘Til Shiloh, 1995)

Buju Banton - Untold Stories (Official Music Video)

REMASTERED IN HD!Music video by Buju Banton performing Untold Stories. (C) 1995 The Island Def Jam Music Group#BujuBanton #UntoldStories #Remastered

youtu.be

Probably my favorite reggae song ever (though I’m certainly not any kind of expert on this genre of music.) Buju is a legend in Jamaica, unknown here except for the 8 years he was in prison on drug charges- he was recently released and deported back to Jamaica. Anyhow, great great tune.

 

[timschochet]

41. The Clash “Lose This Skin” (from Sandinista!, 1980)

The Clash - Lose This Skin (Remastered) [Official Audio]

The Clash – Lose This Skin (Official Audio)Official Merch available here: http://store.theclash.comFollow on Spotify - https://smarturl.it/TheClash_Spotify L...

youtu.be

Sandinista! is a 3 sided album and it’s kind of hit and miss: several of the band’s best and most brilliant tunes, surrounded by a lot of mediocre reggae.

“Lose This Skin” has got to be the oddest tune on the record. It was written and sung by Tymon Dogg, a strange rather unsavory London character who looked like the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Not a member of the band; it’s basically Dogg on violin and vocals with the Clash backing him up. His voice is distinctive and this remains one of my very favorite tunes ever, though I won’t deny its weirdness and creepiness.

 

[squistion]

Hey Rock, there were fascists who were great artists (Ezra Pound, TS Eliot, Richard Strauss to name a few). And there were Communists who were great artists (Pablo Picasso, Lillian Hellman, Freida Kahlo, Theodore Dreiser, etc.)

I’m certainly not a fan of extremist, radical views. But that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the art. I would imagine that Billy Bragg is to the left of Bernie Sanders. But I still love a lot of his music. I like Ted Nugent’s music too.

I find Ted Nugent problematic. Some of his tunes I have really liked but because of political views that I find abhorrent it has gotten increasingly difficult to post any of his songs on my Twitter timeline and when I do so, I feel that I have to add some sort of disclaimer.

Morrissey hasn't fallen into Ted Nugent territory for me yet, even though I find his views on non-white races and immigration in the UK rather disturbing, but not to the to the point that I have actually excluded any songs by The Smiths or his solo work from my playlists.

 

[timschochet]

Hey Rock, there were fascists who were great artists (Ezra Pound, TS Eliot, Richard Strauss to name a few). And there were Communists who were great artists (Pablo Picasso, Lillian Hellman, Freida Kahlo, Theodore Dreiser, etc.)

I’m certainly not a fan of extremist, radical views. But that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the art. I would imagine that Billy Bragg is to the left of Bernie Sanders. But I still love a lot of his music. I like Ted Nugent’s music too.

I find Ted Nugent problematic. Some of his tunes I have really liked but because of political views that I find abhorrent it has gotten increasingly difficult to post any of his songs on my Twitter timeline and when I do so, I feel that I have to add some sort of disclaimer.

Morrissey hasn't fallen into Ted Nugent territory for me yet, even though I find his views on non-white races and immigration in the UK rather disturbing, but not to the to the point that I have actually excluded any songs by The Smiths or his solo work from my playlists.

Morrisey is permanently excluded from all of my playlists. His political views were not a factor in my decision.

 

[timschochet]

40. Girlyman “Viola” (from Remember Who I Am, 2003)

Viola

Provided to YouTube by The Orchard EnterprisesViola · GirlymanRemember Who I Amâ 2011 Girlyman Inc.Released on: 2004-01-01Auto-generated by YouTube.

youtu.be

Girlyman was a folk trio from Atlanta during the early aughts. Pretty melodies sung in harmony; this is the sort of stuff I love. There will be more than one of these type of bands featured on this list. I find this tune to be achingly beautiful.

 

[rockaction]

But that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the art.

To the extent that the politics is inextricable from the art, I argue that one can judge art by its politics. That said, it's fine either way to me what the beholder does with it. One can either hate the agitprop (like I do with Guthrie and Bragg) or one can ignore the propaganda's role in the creation and substance of the art. I believe that is a personal choice best left to the beholder.

I'm a liberal toleration kind of guy and my land is your land, too, so people better get used to disagreeing about things and it behooves them to do so in a reasonable manner.

 

[timschochet]

But that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the art.

To the extent that the politics is inextricable from the art, I argue that one can judge art by its politics.

I strongly disagree with this statement.

Let’s go back to an example I brought up, Pablo Picasso. From what I can gather having read about him, this was a pretty despicable human being. Even beyond his penchant for dictatorship, his treatment of women was terrible, and his depiction of them (particularly during his “Blue” period) makes one wonder if he truly despised them. Yet there is tremendous beauty in his works. I have seen his most famous pieces in Barcelona, and at MOMA in New York, and they are truly extraordinary. Am I supposed to find such beauty despicable because I can’t stand his ideas? I think having such a position would severely limit my ability to enjoy art, as well as ultimately force me into hypocrisy (because no doubt many of the artists, performers, and athletes that I love are total bastards and I just don’t know it.)

 

[rockaction]

I strongly disagree with this statement.

You disagree with this statement then use an example that is nowhere near what I'm positing.

I'm saying that to the extent the art is political, you can hate the art based on its politics.

You're countering with a Picasso/women example. That's a stretch. It's not like Woody Guthrie being "Joseph Stalin's California mouthpiece," which is something that came through in his work. "Inextricable" was the key word there. The art itself is political in nature.

I wasn't making a Michael Jackson-esque argument.

 

[timschochet]

I strongly disagree with this statement.

You disagree with this statement then use an example that is nowhere near what I'm positing.

I'm saying that to the extent the art is political, you can hate the art based on its politics.

You're countering with a Picasso/women example. That's a stretch. It's not like Woody Guthrie being California's "mouth[piece] for Stalin," which is something that came through in his work. "Inextricable" was the key word there. The art itself is political in nature.

I wasn't making a Michael Jackson-esque argument.

All right. Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy is a brilliant indictment of capitalism, written by a communist. It’s also one of our greatest novels (IMO). Should I condemn it, because of the writer’s purpose?

And incidentally, the Guthrie song I chose, “Way Over Yonder In the Minor Key” is not at all political at least so far as I can tell. However you’re correct that it’s lead singer, Billy Bragg, IS political. One of my favorite songs by him is “Waiting for the Great Leap Forward” which refers to the Maoist event. Should I condemn that song?

 

[rockaction]

Should I condemn that song?

You really didn't read my post. I said that was up to you and that liberal toleration plays a role here. In other words, we can agree to disagree and still move forward.

Any Maoist that speaks its murder into music is going to receive my condemnation. Your condemnation may vary. And that's the business of being an adult. I have a huge blind spot with Billy Bragg because of his politics and I can assure you that my life is in no way lessened for not having his oeuvre in my mental rolodex. Same with Dreiser. You might seek out their art. I might consider it agitprop for murder.

In other words, YMMV.

 

[timschochet]

Should I condemn that song?

You really didn't read my post. I said that was up to you and that liberal toleration plays a role here. In other words, we can agree to disagree and still move forward.

Any Maoist that speaks its murder into music is going to receive my condemnation. Your condemnation may vary. And that's the business of being an adult. I have a huge blind spot with Billy Bragg because of his politics and I can assure you that my life is in no way lessened for not having his oeuvre in my mental rolodex. Same with Dreiser.

Fair enough.

 

[rockaction]

I figured I'd look that song up since nobody in their right mind could possibly praise the Great Leap Forward and I'm struck by this:

"Mixing pop and politics/he asks me what the use is"

Dillinger Four stole that line and uses it in a song.

Mixing pop and politics
He asks me what the use is
I'm not into making excuses
And I'll die the day I find I'm ****ing useless - The Great American Going Out Of Business Sale

Anyway, just goes to show you that other left-wing bands picked up on the lyric.

I will say this. I do not understand what Bragg is trying to say with his song. I'm so incredulous that anybody could support the Great Leap Forward and sing about "progress" so unironically that surely irony must be in play, right? A mischievous distance from the organizers and the party?

From Bragg himself, realizing exactly how totalitarianism plays in the U.K. and West.

"I have a lot of respect for Marxists and the contributions they've made to our tradition, and I think we have a lot of things to learn from what Marx was saying, but the language of Marxism, the language with which we conducted politics in the 20th century, don't mean **** all to anybody anymore. One of the problems that we had with it was that people associated it with a totalitarian idea that was in Eastern Europe, so it was easy to dismiss. Now, that's all over. My role, and I've been trying to do this with Occupy Wall Street and the stuff I've been writing on my blog in the last couple of weeks, is to encourage them not to embrace the simplicities of Marxism. There's an opportunity to create a new and passionate political idea that is not tainted by totalitarianism, that doesn't have the shadow of the gulag over it. It's your job to do that!"

 

[northern exposure]

I strongly disagree with this statement.

You disagree with this statement then use an example that is nowhere near what I'm positing.

I'm saying that to the extent the art is political, you can hate the art based on its politics.

You're countering with a Picasso/women example. That's a stretch. It's not like Woody Guthrie being California's "mouth[piece] for Stalin," which is something that came through in his work. "Inextricable" was the key word there. The art itself is political in nature.

I wasn't making a Michael Jackson-esque argument.

All right. Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy is a brilliant indictment of capitalism, written by a communist. It’s also one of our greatest novels (IMO). Should I condemn it, because of the writer’s purpose?

And incidentally, the Guthrie song I chose, “Way Over Yonder In the Minor Key” is not at all political at least so far as I can tell. However you’re correct that it’s lead singer, Billy Bragg, IS political. One of my favorite songs by him is “Waiting for the Great Leap Forward” which refers to the Maoist event. Should I condemn that song?

Worker's Playtime is a great album.

 

[northern exposure]

I figured I'd look that song up since nobody in their right mind could possibly praise the Great Leap Forward and I'm struck by this:

"Mixing pop and politics/he asks me what the use is"

Dillinger Four stole that line and uses it in a song.

Mixing pop and politics
He asks me what the use is
I'm not into making excuses
And I'll die the day I find I'm ****ing useless - The Great American Going Out Of Business Sale

Anyway, just goes to show you that other left-wing bands picked up on the lyric.

I will say this. I do not understand what Bragg is trying to say with his song. I'm so incredulous that anybody could support the Great Leap Forward and sing about "progress" so unironically that surely irony must be in play, right? A mischievous distance from the organizers and the party?

From Bragg himself, realizing exactly how totalitarianism plays in the U.K. and West.

"I have a lot of respect for Marxists and the contributions they've made to our tradition, and I think we have a lot of things to learn from what Marx was saying, but the language of Marxism, the language with which we conducted politics in the 20th century, don't mean **** all to anybody anymore. One of the problems that we had with it was that people associated it with a totalitarian idea that was in Eastern Europe, so it was easy to dismiss. Now, that's all over. My role, and I've been trying to do this with Occupy Wall Street and the stuff I've been writing on my blog in the last couple of weeks, is to encourage them not to embrace the simplicities of Marxism. There's an opportunity to create a new and passionate political idea that is not tainted by totalitarianism, that doesn't have the shadow of the gulag over it. It's your job to do that!"

I think just clipping that one line of the song removes the context.
Posting all the lyrics might be overkill, but here they are:
It may have been Camelot for Jack and Jacqueline
But on the Che Guevara highway filling up with gasoline
Fidel Castro's brother spies a rich lady who's crying
Over luxury's disappointment so he walks over and he's trying
To sympathise with her, but he thinks that he should warn her
That the Third World is just around the corner
In the Soviet Union, a scientist is blinded
By the resumption of nuclear testing and he is reminded
That Dr Robert Oppenheimer's optimism fell
At the first hurdle
In the Cheese Pavilion and the only noise I hear
Is the sound of someone stacking chairs and mopping up spilt beer
And someone asking questions and basking in the light
Of the 15 fame-filled minutes of the fanzine writer
Mixing pop and politics, he asks me, what the use is?
I offer him embarrassment and my usual excuses
While looking down the corridor out to where the van is waiting
I'm looking for the Great Leap Forwards
Jumbo sales are organised and pamphlets have been posted
Even after closing time there's still parties to be hosted
You can be active with the activists or sleep in with the sleepers
While you're waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
One leap forward, two leaps back
Will politics get me the sack?
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Well, here comes the future and you can't run from it
If you've got a blacklist I want to be on it
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
It's a mighty long way down rock 'n roll
From Top of the Pops to drawing the dole
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
If no one seems to understand
You, start your own revolution and cut out the middleman
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
In a perfect world we'd all sing in tune
But this is reality so give me some room
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
So join the struggle while you may
The Revolution is just a T-shirt away
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards

 

[kupcho1]

nobody in their right mind could possibly praise the Great Leap Forward

I'm certainly not in my right mind, but I love this song. Hopefully when I sober up I'll remember to come back and tell you all why.

 

[rockaction]

I think just clipping that one line of the song removes the context.

I wasn't trying to draw an inference about any meaning from that line. It doesn't need any context because it doesn't remove any context nor was any inference of any contextual meaning inherent in my post. It was there to show that other lefties were listening to it and perhaps provide Bragg's raison d'être in one line. End of story.

As for the song, there's really no way to tell what Bragg means. He's described it himself as a call to arms, and that he does so while using Maoist propaganda from policies that resulted in totalitarian overreach, including death by willful punishment and famine raises my hackles. That's hardly something to be taken lightly. It leaves me having a hard time believing that the usage could be as straightforward as that, and that it must be ironic distancing, one would think. At least one would hope given all the people that suffered and died at the hands of Mao during the Great Leap Forward. But even then, its usage is ambiguous enough to be problematic for the listener. Why the Great Leap Forward, by all accounts an unmitigated disaster in the name of progress? What point is he trying to make? I hope he's being wry and self-deprecating about his own impact (or any individual reformer's impact), but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Look, anybody can blow smoke up Bragg's *** for being literate and historical. He certainly captures a certain segment of the press by being so; certainly he doesn't suffer from a lack of accolades by other artists. But that's all rubbish, and he is what he is. A ******* leftist who sees fit to traffic in leftist death tropes regarding some form of liberation, a liberation generally at the expense of the lives of those deemed too far to the right for the leader of men and singer of songs to contemplate as human.

I say it's a personal choice. I think death squads are rubbish. I think forced famines in the name of abstract theories are rubbish. I think he's rubbish. Forget anyone who traffics in that rot.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Oh my

 

[zamboni]

Oh my

Maybe 1974 was the right call in hindsight.

 

[rockaction]

Oh my

Maybe 1974 was the right call in hindsight.

Yeah, don't let me deter the enjoyment. I lodged my complaint and it's over. I'm not going to be on the warpath about it. I just felt like the choice of the song needed . . . context.

 

[zamboni]

Oh my

Maybe 1974 was the right call in hindsight.

Yeah, don't let me deter the enjoyment. I lodged my complaint and it's over. I'm not going to be on the warpath about it. I just felt like the choice of the song needed . . . context.

It’s all good, GB Like I said upthread, this format lacked some controversy - lol

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Oh my

Maybe 1974 was the right call in hindsight.

Yeah, don't let me deter the enjoyment. I lodged my complaint and it's over. I'm not going to be on the warpath about it. I just felt like the choice of the song needed . . . context.

I just don’t want thread shut down for politics even if it just politics tangentially.

 

[rockaction]

Oh my

Maybe 1974 was the right call in hindsight.

Yeah, don't let me deter the enjoyment. I lodged my complaint and it's over. I'm not going to be on the warpath about it. I just felt like the choice of the song needed . . . context.

I just don’t want thread shut down for politics even if it just politics tangentially.

I hear ya. I've said my bit.

 

[timschochet]

Well now I need to reconsider my pick coming up later on of “Springtime for Hitler”.

 

[rockaction]

Well now I need to reconsider my pick coming up later on of “The Horst Wessel Song”.

Or something from Cabaret

Velkommen beinvenue Welcome

 

[squistion]

Oh my

Maybe 1974 was the right call in hindsight.

Yeah, don't let me deter the enjoyment. I lodged my complaint and it's over. I'm not going to be on the warpath about it. I just felt like the choice of the song needed . . . context.

I just don’t want thread shut down for politics even if it just politics tangentially.

SMH

 

[timschochet]

39. I Am Kloot “Proof” (from I Am Kloot, 1989)

Proof - I am Kloot

My band (inspired by "I am Kloot"): http://themidwestquiet.com/

youtu.be

Yet another band I had never heard of during the years they existed. And another song I came across by accident on iTunes. I love this ballad; it reminds me of mid 90s Oasis. I still know absolutely nothing about this band. Interesting video.

 

[Bogart]

Popped in, hung over, to catch up on Tim songs and stumbled into the Politics Forum. Think I will just take a nap under my desk.

 

[timschochet]

38. The Duhks “Turtle Dove” (from Migrations, 2006)

Turtle Dove

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupTurtle Dove · The DuhksMigrationsâ 2006 Sugar Hill Records, A Welk Music Group CompanyReleased on: 2006-01-01Comp...

youtu.be

Another folk band from the 21st century’s first decade, this one from Canada. Some of the lyrics here are taken from Jerry Garcia, some from the Bible, some traditional. Beautiful vocals.

 

[timschochet]

37. Ben Kweller “Falling” (from Sha Sha, 2003)

Ben Kweller Falling

Ben Kweller's Falling, from his album Sha Sha. http://sidestreetoflife.com/

youtu.be

Apparently Ben Kweller has been around for a long time. I only heard of him a few years back when I discovered “Wasted and Ready”, another tune I love with some hilarious lyrics (“sex reminds her of eating spaghetti”). That in turn led me to “Falling”, also from his debut album, an absolutely gorgeous power pop tune which has quickly become one of my very favorites.

 

[rockaction]

I thought it was going to be Alicia Keys here. Would have been timely. As for Kweller, I've heard of him but never heard anything by him, I don't think.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I thought it was going to be Alicia Keys here. Would have been timely. As for Kweller, I've heard of him but never heard anything by him, I don't think.

I thought of Hall and Oates. That’s the title of one of their best songs from the ‘70s.

Kweller is part Rundgren-esque power popper and part meek indie savant. I saw him perform a couple of times back in the day and bought the album with Falling on it (his first).

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Also, if I ever do my own thread like this, there's another song from that Kweller album that I'd consider.

 

[timschochet]

Also, if I ever do my own thread like this, there's another song from that Kweller album that I'd consider.

I mentioned “Wasted and Ready”, was that the one? I do really love that tune.

 

[timschochet]

Due to the discussion here about Billy Bragg I’ve been listening to his solo stuff for the last few days. Not as a result of any opinion about his beliefs, but because I enjoy his music so much and I hadn’t really listened in a long while.

ironically most of my favorite songs by him are the non-political ones: “The Marriage”, “Sexuality”, etc. But what I like the best is that sharp power pop sound he brings to folk/punk music.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Also, if I ever do my own thread like this, there's another song from that Kweller album that I'd consider.

I mentioned “Wasted and Ready”, was that the one? I do really love that tune.

It is not! But I like that one as well.

 

[northern exposure]

Due to the discussion here about Billy Bragg I’ve been listening to his solo stuff for the last few days. Not as a result of any opinion about his beliefs, but because I enjoy his music so much and I hadn’t really listened in a long while.

ironically most of my favorite songs by him are the non-political ones: “The Marriage”, “Sexuality”, etc. But what I like the best is that sharp power pop sound he brings to folk/punk music.

I really like his lyrics. Very witty. Don't want to get into a political slugfest, but here are some of my favorites:

"Between marx and marzipan in the dictionary there was mary
Between the deep blue sea and the devil that was me"

"All my friends from school
Introduce me to their spouses
While I'm left standing here
With my hands down the front of my trousers
I just don't know what's to be done
I wonder sometimes how did dad meet mum
And how did they conceive of me
Tell me mary"

"For the girl with the hour glass figure
Time runs out very fast"

 

[timschochet]

36. Rufus Wainwright “California” (from Poses, 2001)

Rufus Wainwright - California (Official Music Video)

REMASTERED IN HDOfficial Music Video for California performed by Rufus Wainwright. Follow Rufus Wainwright:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rufuswainwrig...

youtu.be

Rufus, from a pretty famous family of performers, is a terrific songwriter, and this album features some of his very best material. The song I selected is both great rock and roll and a brilliant, cynical takedown of my beloved home state.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

36. Rufus Wainwright “California” (from Poses, 2001)

Rufus Wainwright - California (Official Music Video)

REMASTERED IN HDOfficial Music Video for California performed by Rufus Wainwright. Follow Rufus Wainwright:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rufuswainwrig...

youtu.be

Rufus, from a pretty famous family of performers, is a terrific songwriter, and this album features some of his very best material. The song I selected is both great rock and roll and a brilliant, cynical takedown of my beloved home state.

At first I thought this was gonna be the Joni Mitchell song and was like, c'mon Tim, that's not obscure.

 

[zamboni]

36. Rufus Wainwright “California” (from Poses, 2001)

Rufus Wainwright - California (Official Music Video)

REMASTERED IN HDOfficial Music Video for California performed by Rufus Wainwright. Follow Rufus Wainwright:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rufuswainwrig...

youtu.be

Rufus, from a pretty famous family of performers, is a terrific songwriter, and this album features some of his very best material. The song I selected is both great rock and roll and a brilliant, cynical takedown of my beloved home state.

At first I thought this was gonna be the Joni Mitchell song and was like, c'mon Tim, that's not obscure.

I was thinking the same re: Joni.

 

[timschochet]

36. Rufus Wainwright “California” (from Poses, 2001)

Rufus Wainwright - California (Official Music Video)

REMASTERED IN HDOfficial Music Video for California performed by Rufus Wainwright. Follow Rufus Wainwright:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rufuswainwrig...

youtu.be

Rufus, from a pretty famous family of performers, is a terrific songwriter, and this album features some of his very best material. The song I selected is both great rock and roll and a brilliant, cynical takedown of my beloved home state.

At first I thought this was gonna be the Joni Mitchell song and was like, c'mon Tim, that's not obscure.

I love that song too. But you’re right, not only is it not obscure but I recently read that Blue is Taylor Swift’s favorite album of all time.